The New 52 Review: I, VAMPIRE #1

"Blood in, blood out"

I, VAMPIRE #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Joshua Hale Fialkov
ARTIST: Andrea Sorrentino
COLORS: Marcelo Maiolo
LETTERS: Pat Brosseau
32pp, Color, $2.99

I, Vampire is one of the comic books to come out of “The New 52,” DC Comics re-launch of its superhero line. I, Vampire is based upon I...Vampire, which was a 24-issue storyline that appeared in House of Mystery from 1981 to 1983.

Created by writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Tom Sutton, the series focused on Lord Andrew Bennett, a vampire who vowed to only drink the blood of animals and bottled human blood. In 1591, Bennett turned his lover, Mary Seward, into a vampire, but she became corrupted by the power. Seward took the name Mary, Queen of Blood and created a group of vampires called The Blood Red Moon that was bent on taking over the world. I...Vampire followed Bennett into modern times as he tried to undo his mistake and take down Mary and The Blood Red Moon.

I don’t know how much of the original I...Vampire will carry over into the new version. I, Vampire #1 (“Tainted Love”) opens in Boston with a shirtless Andrew (why?) hunting new vampires – apparently the creation of his former lover, Mary. Meanwhile, the narrative flashbacks reveal an argument/discussion between Andrew and Mary.

In spite of the shirtless vampire males and the Goth-y vamp chicks (and all those lithe bodies), I, Vampire is not DC Comics’ Twilight thing. Actually, it may be the feuding vampire version of Marvel Comics’ mutant vs. mutant thing. I almost like artist Andrea Sorrentino’s Jae Lee impersonation, although I’d prefer a more traditional art style (like Tom Sutton’s).

I think writer Joshua Hale Fialkov could do something interesting with this, especially because it ties into the DCU proper rather than Vertigo.

B

September 28th
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